Stage 17 - Maldon to Hastings

Wednesday 28th June 2017

From Essex and across the Thames via the Queen Elizabeth Bridge. Not the most scenic part of the route, but once beyond the Dartford Crossing, you will find yourself in the aptly-named Garden of England – Kent.

Some heavyweights of English art and literature have links in Kent – from Charles Dickens who lived in Rochester – and based many of his novels in the surrounding area - to JMW Turner who lived in Margate.

You will drive through parts of the Kent Downs and the High Weald, both Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Rolling hills, chocolate-box villages and pretty coastal routes certainly live up to the description.

As you head along the Kent and Sussex coast you will pass many of the Historic Cinque Ports, a unique association of maritime towns and villages dating back 1000 years.

Today’s stage finishes at the Bannatyne Spa Hotel, just a short distance from the presumed location of the famous Battle of 1066.